I would like to expand on Stephen DeBoever’s letter concerning the significance, or insignificance, of Operation Black Ice. I want to put some numbers out there that everybody understands. With the economy of the country, the state, the county and our cities in such dire straits how can the cost of such an operation be justified?

I think it is a fair estimate that the hourly pay, plus the benefit package, for each of those 100 officers is about $50 per hour. That comes to $5,000 per hour. $40 per hour comes to $4 000 00 per hour. Do the math!! Did they work 4 hours that day-$20,000. 8 hours that day-$40,000. Assembly in the morning, serve warrants, make arrests, searches, transport, paperwork … More, less? How much did that one day really cost us taxpayers?

I can’t imagine more than four officers per vehicle, probably much less. That is at least 25 vehicles They use expensive vehicles plus the cost of gasoline and all of the regular maintenance. It took time and vehicles to transport all of the officers and all of those arrested.

What was the cost of that 10 month investigation? How many agencies, and officers, and high paid officials, were involved in that? How many thousands of dollars?

Most of those arrested are in jail at the public’s expense. We are still looking at the cost of prosecution. If they get public defenders we will also pay to defend them.

From the 63 people arrested there was $2,469 confiscated. That comes to $39.19 per person.

Are those the BIG TIME drug dealers that justifies the kind of spending that went into Operatic Black Ice? And 90 grams of methamphetamine is a very insignificant amount. It would fit into almost any spice can in our kitchens. 26 grams of heroin is less than 1 ounce. DeBoever stated that the confiscated pot could be grown on 4 plants.

Regardless of anybody’s thoughts about substance abuse can this kind of cost be justified. Even if it is illegal, do we want to spend this kind of money to put these 36 small time, neighborhood drugs dealers into our over crowded, very expensive prisons? As soon as they are gone somebody else will take their place and nothing significant will have been accomplished at the great expense of the Black Ice Operation.